The Echo: Awakening
by Gnat1
Summary: Chaos Energy is no longer a tool. It's an enemy, and a very powerful one at that. In the midst of confusion, Sonic and Tails have split paths. While one wishes to restore hope, the other lives as a dangerous criminal. A new villian has risen to power, and is slowly destroying Mobius. If there is any chance of a victory, Sonic will have to recover lost friends, and hope for survival
1. Prolouge

_Who are you? What makes you who you are?_

_This question is spoken quite often in many places, or at least where_  
_I come from. This was the question that made me become who I am now._  
_And this sparks another question: Who am I?_

_As much as I would love to tell you the answer, I can not. I am a_  
_time-traveller, and am known by many different things. As a_  
_time-traveller, I have seen the works of old, and the works of new. I_  
_have witnessed almost every war through my own eyes, and know of many_  
_stories worth telling. But that question will become very, very_  
_important later on._

_And that is why I am here. You are here to read the tale of a_  
_forgotten battle. A secret war, with rebellion, treachery, death, and_  
_many events that could suprise you, while I am here to lead this tale's direction, all while keeping my question in mind. This has been long forgotten, the_  
_effects of time-travelling erasing it from many minds. If you wish to_  
_hear of this rather peculiar tale, then please read on._

_I will give you a fair warning, though. By reading this story, you are_  
_learning information that the Zone Cops are desperately trying to keep_  
_secret. You are putting yourself in danger of getting discovered by_  
_the Warden Zobotnick, and therefore you must be careful, as we do not_  
_want you to become locked up, your memory erased, and released back_  
_into the world having believed this story to be nonexistent. No_  
_pressure._

**OoOoOoO**

**~Sonic's POV**

**OoOoOoO**

"OUCH!" I yelped as I jumped up, my head making quick contact with  
something over me. I groaned and layed down on the hard, wooden  
surface. I felt at my sides, only to find two more wooden walls,  
preventing me from moving freely. Judging by how my head had just  
slammed into a cieling not even a foot above me, I could only guess I  
was trapped in a wooden box.

...Crud.

Where the heck was I? I began racking my brain, thinking how I could  
have possibly gotten myself in here.

Let's see... I remembered a battle... and I think I won. Darn... who  
was I fighting? No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember.

Before I go any farther, I should probably explain things a bit. To  
start, my name's Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. All my life, I've been in  
the wrong place, at the wrong time. For me, that's actually a good  
thing. After all, I am one of Mobius' greatest heroes.

See, for as long as I can remember, my life has been spent protecting  
everything I care about, from a certain fat guy in a red suit. No, not  
Santa. This guy was a greedy, bloated eggman. I can't even count how  
many times I've defeated him (although my buddy, Tails, probably  
could. He's good at that stuff).

That's about all there is to me. And as to why I'm stuck in a tight,  
wooden box? Well, I don't know that myself.

But MAN, it was uncomfortable! I couldn't see anything, you can thank  
the darkness for that. Well, at least this box was dry. I was also  
kept warm (not that it was cold outside. How would I know?), And, it  
offered a sense of safety. I'm not sure what to think of that.

Aw, who am I kidding? This place sucked. Well, at least I had enough  
room to roll into a ball. As I curled up, I began rotating, slowly  
gaining speed. The box was lighting up with a warm, blue glow as I got  
enough speed to burst through the top of the box. The wood splintered  
and scratched me slightly, but overall I succeded in breaking it. As I  
rolled through it, I could feel my body dig through cold soil.

...Soil? What the heck?

I spun faster and finally burst into the open air, glad to finally be  
out of that stuffy, strangely warm box. Collapsing on the ground, I  
could feel my chest rising and falling rapidly. I guess I was more  
tired than I thought.

After about a minute of laying there, I finally looked up. The first  
thing I saw was the sky, gray with dark clouds. It was then that I  
noticed it was raining. Dang it, I hate rain. I was resting on bright,  
green grass that looked over a small pond, with a waterfall dropping  
into it. A tree hung over me, and I could see an old cabin and a small  
track digging deep into the rocky walls that seemed to make up a  
mountain. I didn't quite reconize the place until I saw a small cave  
at my right. Not very far into this cave was a large, swirling cyclone  
of wind that, if you stepped in it, would whisk you to a place called  
Windy Valley.

That basically summed up where I was: Mystic Ruins. Around two feet in  
front of me was a large hole in the ground, probably what I had just  
crawled out of. I gazed at the hole, unsure what to think. How did I  
get here, and why was I buried?

I shrugged the thought off and turned around. Now I had a clear view  
of what was behind me: A wooden stairway that led to an overhanging  
bridge. This was used by the train to get to Station Square. Beyond  
the bridge was a large hill overlooking the ocean, which was behind  
everything. At the top of the hill rested a small workshop, one that  
belonged to my best bud, Tails. I smiled to myself and stood up. Man,  
It felt good to stretch my legs! It made me wonder how long I was  
cramped up in that box down there. But hey, who cares? I was out, I was free, and- whoa, I was  
pretty hungry to. Well, I was planning on seeing Tails anyway, so I  
might as well grab some food while I was there. I crouched down and  
burst off, arriving at his workshop in less than a second. I  
approached the heavy, oak door that made the workshop's entrance and  
gave it a good, hard knock.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

"...Yo, Tails! Anyone home?"

...

No answer.

I stood there for a couple of minutes, waiting for my bro's usual  
greeting. I tapped my foot. He sure was taking his sweet time getting  
to the door! I raised my fist and knocked again.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

"Tails! It's me! Sonic!"

...

Again, no answer.

I rolled my eyes. He was probably working on the Tornado again. I  
grabbed the door handle and swung it open, inviting myself in. He  
wouldn't mind, anyway. I did it all the time.

"Hey, Tails! You home?"

I stopped dead in my tracks, and let my mouth drop. The workshop was  
dark, like, really dark. All of the tools on the work table were  
gathering dust, as well as cobwebs. To my right was the Tornado, in  
even worse condition than the table. The paint was peeling off, the  
exposed engine was coated in a thick layer of dust and more cobwebs,  
and the front propeller had been disabled. What was going on? Tails  
never left the place like this, especially the Tornado!

I shook my head. Maybe Tails has just been too busy to come here  
(although that was pretty unlikely). I sighed and opened the nearby  
refrigerator, only to find it empty. Closing it, I sat on a stool and  
remained quiet, like the rest of the workshop. The only thing to be  
heard was the patter of rain pelting on the window.

After a few minutes, I decided I should go check up on Big, he would  
definitely be home. Big was a cat that lived out in the jungles of  
Mystic Ruins, and he was, well, big. I opened the door and shot down  
the hill to the small cart track, which could take me further into the  
jungle. After a few minutes of running down the track, which passed  
like a blur, I made it onto a large plato overlooking the ruins, and  
the intense forests that surrounded. Not bothering to use the ladder,  
I leaped off the plato and kicked off of a tall palm tree, propelling  
myself over the trees and towards the area Big's hut was located. I  
couldn't help but grin as I felt the wind blow past me, and the scenic  
view I had of the jungle made it even better. My only problem was the  
rain, but I could look past that. It wasn't long before I began to  
descend, and landed right smack in front of the little hut I was  
looking for.

It was a strange looking place, as it was nearly surrounded by water  
(due to the river that flowed through there). It didn't exactly have  
any walls, except for in the back. You could say it mostly looked like  
a floor and a roof, but me and my friends had spent many great  
afternoons there nonetheless. I smiled and hopped over the small  
stream of water that blocked my path to the hut, and began walking up  
the small dock that led into the little house-hut-roof contraption.

"Hey Big, it's me, Sonic!" I called out. I grinned as I looked around  
the hut. A large bed was set behind a small, round table, and it  
looked like he added a TV. The hut had also been expanded slightly,  
allowing room for a few more beds, and a small kitchen area. It really  
made the hut look bigger, compared to my last visit.

My thoughts were interrupted as I spotted a large, purple form stand  
up by a pool of water, just outside the hut.

"...Sonic? Is that you?" The familiar voice asked.

I smiled. "Yup, the one and only!"

"Sonic, you're alive!" The cat shouted, running up to greet me.

"Oh come on, Big. It hasn't been THAT long since my last visit!" I  
replied with a chuckle. "In fact, why are you even- OOF!" I grunted as  
the cat slapped me on the back, laughing heartily while I faceplanted  
into the wooden flooring.

"I'm so glad to see your alive, Sonic!" Big exclaimed. "You're other  
friends have been very worried about you!"

Okaaaaayy... I'm not sure what he meant by that.

"Um... why would they be worried?" I asked, unsure what to expect.

"Because you disappeared without a trace, Sonic." a more serious voice  
spoke behind me. I turned to face the red speaker.

"...Knuckles?" I asked. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be  
guarding the Master Emerald?"

"The Master Emerald evaporated, Sonic, causing Angel Island to crumble  
and collapse on Radical Highway. Remember the battle?"

Battle? I wasn't sure. I began ransacking my brain, but the only thing  
that would come up were fuzzy, blurred memories.

"I... I think so." I replied, my head was beginning to hurt. "Wasn't  
that only like... a day ago?"

Knuckles sighed. "Well, you're close." he said in a sarcastic tone.  
"It was three months ago."

My mouth dropped. "W-What?" I stammered out. What was going on here?  
Was this amnesia I was getting?

Knuckles remained there with a calm, grim expression. "Sonic, I'm  
guessing the blows you took went to your head." he limped over to where I was standing and motioned for  
me to sit on a small chair by the table. I obliged and waited for my  
friend to continue.

"Explaining everything will take a bit of time, but for now I'll say  
this: Chaos energy is no longer our friend. It's an enemy, and a  
powerful one at that. Most of our friends have disappeared, along with  
Robotnick. Amy, Vanilla, and Cream are hiding with the Chaotix, hoping  
to stay safe, while everyone else just disappeared, plain and simple.  
If that wasn't enough, you're technically supposed to be dead."  
Knuckles heaved a long sigh and took a seat in another chair. "I also  
nearly lost my leg." he groaned as he gripped his right knee.

I sat there, shocked. What exactly did I miss, and what the heck was  
going on here? If that all happened while I was unconcious in that  
box, how did I survive?

"Oh, and one more thing..." Knuckles spoke again, interrupting my  
thoughts. I looked up at the echidna to see that his expression had  
become, well, it looked as if something was hurting him, like a great  
sadness. He pulled out a poster and gently laid it on the table. I  
leaned over to look at it, to find it was a 'Wanted, dead or alive'  
poster. I looked at the picture and gasped. I was beginning to feel  
light headed, with shock, horror, and anger overwhelming in me.

"Sonic..." Knuckles spoke in a shaky voice. I looked up from the  
horrifying poster and back at him again, to see that a small tear was  
glistening in his eye.

"It's Tails, Sonic. He's become wanted... as a deadly criminal."

**Gnat1: Here it is, the fanfic that's plot has been over five months in**  
**the making! Things will be explained later, I promise.**

**Also, I should probably say that this takes place after my other**  
**fanfic, "The Echo", so you may want to read that first.**

**Please leave a review and tell me what you think, I really appriciate it!**


	2. Unwanted Change

**Gnat1: Holy cow, this story only has one chapter, and already seven**  
**reveiws! That's awesome, I honestly didn't think I'd get so much**  
**feedback!**

**Special thanks to the reviewers: HyperTomboi429, TatlTails,**  
**EclipseWithTheMorphs, loveauntauri, Lord Kelvin, Kaitlyn Thorne, Shizuku Tsishikima, and**  
**Duskzilla.**

**Also, Lord Kelvin and Shizuku mentioned that the script format is kinda messed up,**  
**like it's sliced down the middle. This is a problem I honestly don't**  
**know how to fix, so I apologize if it makes it difficult to read (it**  
**probably doesn't, but you never know). I'll look into it and see if it can be fixed. It might be due to what I'm typing this on...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of this, now let's get on with the story!**

OoOoOoO

~Sonic's POV

OoOoOoO

It was later than I thought it was, and I was surprisingly tired.  
Knuckles had told me he'd explain everything in the morning, and that  
I should get some food and sleep. I wasn't hungry, so decided to just  
go along with the latter. I laid myself down on one of the spare beds  
and tried to get some rest. It took forever, but I finally managed to  
doze off. I had been thinking about what Knuckles had told me, so  
calming myself down enough to sleep was harder than I expected.

Of course, I couldn't sleep peacefully. The night haunted me with a  
weird dream, that would repeat over and over again. I was floating  
over a jungle, in the light of day. I could see just about everything  
within a mile radius, and I easily spotted Mushroom Hill. I had  
floated closer to it, and I saw a copy of myself, running through the  
thick of the trees. I watched this other Sonic charge into a small  
clearing, and another figure, a golden one, appeared before him. They  
broke into a fight, and the golden figure eventually knocked my "copy"  
down, and grabbed him by the neck. He lifted him several feet in the  
air before squeezing him with chaos energy, resulting in a  
blood-curdling scream. I turned away, not wanting to watch myself  
explode. After a few minutes, I turned back around to find myself  
facing the golden murderer, and that's when it hit me.

The golden figure was _me, in my super-form._

OoOoOoO

[Music Playing: "Make it Stop", by Rise Against]

_There will always be change, whether you like it or not. It may come_  
_unexpectedly, but we must learn to cope with it. We were made to adapt_  
_to different things, but sometimes it's harder than one would like to_  
_imagine._

...

**_Gnat1 presents..._**

...

_Awakening to a world you no longer reconize is one of these situations._

...

**_A Sonic the Hedgehog fanfic..._**

...

_There will be confusion, plenty of it, as there will also be_  
_rebellion, and before this is all over, our world will have changed._  
_Drastically._

_But even in the darkest of days, a speck of dust holds the truth._

...

**_The Echo: Awakening_**

[Music Stops]

OoOoOoO

I awoke with a jump, to find that the morning had come. The rain had  
let up as well, but the waters of the river surrounding the hut had  
risen. I sighed and tried to shake that image out of my head. Watching  
myself get mauled by myself isn't the most comforting dream, y'know?

I jumped out of bed and looked around the hut. Big was sleeping on a  
cot hanging from the room, and Knuckles was in another spare bed, his  
cane resting at it's side. Oh, that reminded me, I'll have to ask  
about his leg later. It really was sad, to see an old friend of yours  
suddenly having to use a cane, like an older dude. Even if we didn't  
always get along, I felt as if I needed to help him, but I wasn't sure  
how. The floor boards creaked softly under my weight as I rested my  
feet on the flooring. Both Big and Knuckles were snoring loudly,  
causing me to chuckle slightly.

I turned towards the jungle. Big really did live in a neat area. Thick  
trees surrounded the hut, and tall palm trees jutted out in all kinds  
of places in the brush, but the thin trails that led into the woods  
remained cleanly-cut through. The sky was pale, so I figured the time  
was somewhere around 6:00 AM.

I sighed. I wanted to enjoy the morning, but I couldn't. My mind kept  
wandering back to what Knuckles had said last night, and the dream I  
had. I needed to hear what Knux said he'd tell me about, and in case  
you haven't noticed, I've never been a patient dude.

I dunno... maybe if I went for a run it would clear my mind. Hm...  
where could I go? Station Square? Water Palace? Jungle Zone? I thought  
for a minute, and decided on Emerald Coast, mainly because it was  
closest, and I didn't want to go too far away from Knux and Big. I  
took a running position and burst off.

The feeling was great! Finally, I was able to stretch out my legs  
again! The forest passed by like a blur as I increased in speed. I  
smiled and let my arms flail out behind me as I broke the sound  
barrier. I launched up a rock wall and through the tunnel leading into  
the main section of Mystic Ruins. I then turned to the small wooden  
pickup area for the train and ran up it's steps, down the train track,  
across the bridge, and through the tunnel leading to Station Square.  
Picking up my speed, I ran out the other end of the tunnel and followed the track  
down a hillside. I looked over and saw that I had a perfect veiw of  
the upper part of Station Square (where I had performed my famous City  
Escape), and Emerald Coast was only about two miles south of it.

Good enough for me, but this time, I wanted to go fast. I blasted  
forward, everything passing by in milliseconds.

Grass... roads... cars... a few tall buildings...  
skyscrapers... a hotel... a beach... a few small islands...  
aaaaannd STOP!

I screeched to a halt on a small island in Emerald Coast. I had run  
up a small path on it and stopped at that familiar lighthouse. I now  
found myself on the lighthouse's bridge, gazing out over a perfect  
view of the lush tropical islands, with the city of Station Square  
behind it. I smiled as the sun peeked out over the horizon, I had come  
just in time for the sunrise. To me, this was one of the greatest  
things in life. To be able to experience this amazing view in the  
early morning relaxed me. It seemed to be telling me that I didn't  
have to worry, and to kick back for a minute or two. I rested my arms  
against the bridge's wall and took it all in.

"...Quite a sight, isn't it?" a voice asked.

I jumped and whirled around, freaked out. To my surprise, standing  
right behind me was Knuckles, floating on some sort of vehicle!

"K-Knux! Did you follow me? How did you get here so quickly?" I  
asked, my voice a bit shaky from the scare he gave me.

The echidna grinned. "Well, I can't use my right leg, so I found one  
of these in an old storage area in one of Eggman's deserted bases. It  
can keep up with you pretty well, even if its just a prototype."

"Well, that is pretty cool. I take it you saw me leave?" I asked with  
a small grin. The echidna nodded. He seemed to be in a grim mood, but  
I guess I couldn't blame him. I decided now might be the best time to  
start figuring things out.

"So... are you going to tell me all that happened?"

Knuckles didn't respond for a moment, and simply stared out at the  
ocean, watching the waves lap against the island shores. He nodded,  
slowly. "Yeah, I can. But I'll have to start at the beginning. Do you  
remember the battle with a mobian named Echo?"

A strange feeling shot through my head, and a few fuzzy memories came  
to me. "Yeah... we fought him over Radical Highway, and we won,  
right?" I asked.

Knuckles nodded. "Yes, well, at least while you were still there."

"I... I left?"

"Sonic, you're not going to like what I'm about to tell you, so be prepared."

Okay, I can do that. I took a deep breath and braced myself for  
whatever was coming. Knuckles sighed and looked over at the sunrise.  
"Here's what started out fine, and went terribly wrong...

Echo was a powerful salamander that could manipulate the enviroment.  
He had destroyed the Master Emerald and launched Angel Island into one  
of the busiest parts of Station Square: Radical Highway. Tails had  
been injured and was taken back to some realm by Tikal to heal. When  
he returned, he had become Turbo Tails, his super form. He then  
powered you up with Chaos energy, and you went Super Sonic. Both of  
you brought Echo down, and Shadow seemingly obliterated him with a  
Chaos Rift. Everyone began cheering, and we started celebrating,  
thinking it was all over. Boy, were we wrong...

You eventually left your super form, but Tails didn't. He grabbed you  
by the back of your neck and threw you into the night sky. He then  
turned to us, and charged a blast at Shadow. I wasn't sure what was  
going on, but I flew down and pushed Shadow out of the way, taking the  
blast instead. It costed me my leg.

Tails then went on a rampage, destroying the city. We all tried to  
stop him, but he had grown too powerful. Eventually, we were forced to  
retreat. All of us. We began a search for you for over 60 days, but  
you were never found. We all split paths. Shadow and Rouge ran off to  
G.U.N to help with whatever they could, the Chaotix went into hiding,  
Silver and Blaze disappeared, and Amy, Vanilla, and Cream went with  
the Chaotix to seek a safer place. Me and Big took refuge back at his  
place, seeing as how my island was destroyed..."

He stopped talking and looked over at me. I, in turn, was appalled. I  
simply couldn't believe it, but it was apparently true. Knuckles seemed to reconize my expression. "Sonic, I know this is  
probably difficult to take..." he said in a gentle voice.

"I... I never thought something like this could happen..." I replied,  
and it was true. Never, in a million years, would I expect ANYTHING  
remotely like this to take place! It just didn't make any sense, and  
nearly sounded like a random nightmare.

Knuckles sighed. "That's not all, though. There's something you should  
see." he motioned for me to climb on the flying vehicle he was on. I  
nodded and climbed over the concrete wall of the lighthouse bridge,  
stepping onto the weird machine. Now that I had a better view of it, I  
could see that it was a type of hoversled, shaped like a silver disc  
with one seat and a pair of bike handles for steering. It was kinda  
strange looking, but it had enough extra room for me to sit on the  
edge of the disc. Knuckles pulled back a small lever and the hoversled  
began flying towards Station Square. It had then occurred to me that,  
while I had run through there in order to get to Emerald Coast, I  
never really looked around the city. I was starting to wonder what  
Knuckles was planning on showing me. Did I not see something when I  
had shot through there earlier? Maybe I shouldn't have moved so  
quickly...

It wasn't long until we reached the main part of Station Square.  
Knuckles parked his hoversled on the roof of the hotel that ran along  
Emerald Coast, and I turned to look over the city's main area.

My mouth dropped.

The entire central area, with the train station, garage building, and  
entrance to the Twinkle Park amusement area, was completely flooded  
with dirt. There was so much dirt that I couldn't even see the roads,  
and it had filled up along the buildings, making the town look like  
one big tub of dirt. Several palm trees were jutting out of the soil,  
as if they had been uprooted.

"...You've got to be kidding..." I said as I looked over the large mass of dirt.

Knuckles walked over to where I was. "The whole city has been  
evacuated ever since we finished off Echo. When Angel Island crashed,  
they had no choice but to pack up and leave."

I gasped. "You don't mean..."

"...This is Angel Island, or at least what's left of it." Knuckles  
finished for me, motioning down to the large, overfilling pile of  
soil.

I couldn't even explain how shocked I was. It felt like I had awakened  
in an entirely different world. Judging by what Knuckles said last  
night, I felt like I was ready for whatever big shock was coming, but  
THIS was bizarre! Between the fact that I was buried in a box for over  
three months, the splitting-up of my friends, the sudden mad rampage  
Tails was apparently going on, the disappearance of Silver and Blaze,  
and now an entire population evacuating a city due to a fallen island,  
I was getting overwhelmed by all of this!

"...We've gotta do something about this." I growled.

Knuckles lifted an eyebrow. "Like what? It would be pretty hard  
without the others, anyway."

"The Chaotix... do you know where they went off to?"

"They mentioned Glyphic Canyon, but that's all I really know."

I let off a small grin and slammed my fists together. "Sweet. As soon  
as we get back to Big's place, let's start making plans for a trip to  
Glyphic Canyon. We're going to find the Chaotix and figure out what  
made this all happen, and try to talk some sense into Tails."

Knuckles sighed. "That won't be as easy as it sounds, Sonic. A lot of  
new dangers have come ever since you disappeared."

"Yeah? Like what?"

As if on cue, a large crash was heard in the distance, and I saw a  
large skyscraper come toppling down. Although it looked about a  
half-mile away, it was easy to see from atop the hotel. It was a  
strange sight to take in, as the large building crumbled over other  
tall structures. I turned to Knuckles, whose face had paled.

"Sonic, we need to get out of here. Now."

I didn't reply as I listened to the final crumbling sounds of the  
destroyed skyscraper. A weird feeling had creeped up on me, as if  
something, or someone, was watching us...

Knuckles suddenly grabbed the back of my neck, his strong grip nearly  
choking me, and hoisted me onto the back of the hoversled.

"When I say we gotta go, it seriously means we gotta go!" the echidna  
hissed, revving up his machine and flying us out of the city in a  
nearly-panicked speed. This was only getting more mysterious.

What was going on in there, and why did we need to bail so quickly?

**Gnat1: And another chapter finally jotted down! It wasn't all that**  
**long, but it hopefully explained a few things (although it did reveal**  
**a bunch of new mysteries). If you haven't already,**** you may want to read The Echo ****if you want to understand what**  
**Knuckles was talking about earlier in this chapter. On the other hand, I'm going to try and explain everything in this fanfic, so it isn't neccessary.**

**Anyhow, here's what to expect in the next chapter: *gasps* The next**  
**one won't be Sonic's POV, but instead Tails' POV! Yes, you all know**  
**what that means. This story will go back and forth between Sonic's story and Tails'**  
**story, so I hope you'll all be prepared for an even more mysterious**  
**chapter! The action should also pick up, so be on the lookout for it!**

**Ciao!**


	3. Hero No More

**Gnat1: Yes, yes, another ridiculously long wait for the next chapter.**  
***sigh*, I loath myself. I hope this next chapter will make up for the**  
**wait, anyway. Letsa begin!**

* * *

_Everything can change, this is a fact. Change is something that comes_  
_suddenly, forcing us to take it in, and having to accept its new_  
_state. This philosophy has been around forever, but one thing that_  
_must be known is that change is never easy to adapt to. What you see_  
_unfold before you will be extremely unexpected, and will not be a_  
_change that is easily accepted._

_This is a change where legends fall, heroes disappear, and your_  
_friend stabs you in the back._

VvVvVvV

Tails' POV

VvVvVvV

Falling... is that all that I was feeling? The chill of an overly  
fast decent was radiating through my entire body, and it wouldn't  
stop. Sirens pierced my ears, followed by the jolting sound of  
gunshots.

Gunshots directed at me.

My vision was a blurry mess of Station Square. I watched myself tear a  
skyscraper down, and then take out several helicopters.

I couldn't fight for control anymore. I had been doing this for the  
last three months, and I was far past worn out. It hurt, really. I  
couldn't tell anyone what was going on, I couldn't move on my own, and  
I couldn't stop myself from killing several people, some of which were  
my friends.

Maybe on the outside, I appeared to be a crazed pyschopath chock-full  
of Chaos Energy, but on the inside... I was crying.

I guess I should start explaining how all of this crazy junk first  
came to be. Sonic and I had just defeated Echo, a jerk with powers off  
the charts, and things looked to be pretty good. That is, until I  
blacked out. Now, see, both me and Sonic had engaged our Super Sonic  
and Turbo Tails forms to beat the snot out of the bad guy, and on  
normal occasions, we would revert to our normal forms after the job  
was done.

Well, Sonic did, but I didn't. After waking up from the blackout, I  
found myself fighting against my friends, my body no longer my own,  
forcing most of them to fall into a retreat. It wasn't long before  
G.U.N. got involved, and my uncontrolled self killed the Commander.  
That was by far one of the most painful expeirences I've ever had. The  
Commander and I had been good friends, as I was always helping with  
their weaponry. I would probably kill myself for doing that, that is,  
if I could first regain control of my body.

**[Music Playing: "What I've Done", by Linkin Park]**

Anyway, since then, I've been in a constant war with G.U.N., unable to  
tell them what was really going on. Oh, and as for G.U.N.'s new  
commander? Well, that title came to...

"What's our next move, Commander Shadow?" I heard one of the soldiers ask.

The black hedgehog kept his cold glare fixed on me. I in turn was  
destroying some random building.

After reducing another set of skyscrapers into scrap heaps, I turned  
and faced Shadow and the several G.U.N. soldiers.

"What's the problem? I thought the 'Ultimate Lifeform' was supposed to  
be able to handle these kinds of things." I said with a smirk. Ugh, I  
hated being the puppet.

Shadow sighed and loaded the strange looking gun he had been holding.

"Tails... don't make this hurt more than it already does." he said in  
a solemn tone.

"Why? You feel pain? Huh, weird. Weren't you supposed to be invincible  
or something?"

Shadow growled and glanced at his remaining forces, then back at me.  
"Tails, we were always close friends, but you've gone too far with  
this. You've already taken enough lives to fill a cemetary."

He raised his gun.

"...And if I have to kill you, then so be it."

I smirked. "Do your worst."

I growled from the inside. Whoever the jerk was that's been  
controlling me was about to stop, now.

I screamed on the inside.

_CUT IT OUT!_

_..._

**_...No._**

My vision began to fade, and time seemed to pause. I was suprised to  
hear an answer, but that didn't slow me down from my countless  
questions.

_Who are you? Why are you using me like this?_

**_Why would I tell you that? It would take away from the game._**

_Just leave, please, you've caused enough pain as it is..._

**_No, YOU'VE caused enough pain as it is. You have already given in to_**  
**_the negative properties of Chaos, embrace it._**

_No... I still have a... chance._

**_You don't, but the blue one did. Unfortunately, I believe you killed him._**

_Shut... up..._

CRACK!

My vision suddenly returned, and the voice vanished. I felt a warm  
liquid trickle down my forehead

...Blood.

I fell out of the air. The Chaos energies disappeared, and I exited my  
super form.

**[Stop Music]**

The sound of sirens in the distance could be heard, and I slowly  
cracked my eyes open. I found myself laying in a small crater I had  
apparently made in the highway. I looked around at the wreckage of  
Station Square, with a slight breeze blowing through my fur. I reached  
down to push myself off the ground-

...Wait, I was moving on my own again!

I gasped. Had I finally broken out of the control? I was about to climb onto my feet, until Shadow appeared, pointing  
the large gun at me again.

"Well, let's be glad that worked." He said, glaring down at me.

I tried to speak.

"Sh... Sha...dow... I... can explain..."

Well, my voice didn't have the whole 'evil sound' to it anymore, but  
Shadow didn't buy it.

"Too bad. You won't be explaining anything until we get you back to  
base." He growled. He pulled out a small sheet of paper, and, with a  
sign of reluctance, began looking over it.

I waited for a few minutes until Shadow finished reading through it.  
The ebony hedgehog soon looked back at me coldly.

"Miles Prower, you are under arrest for acts of mass destruction,  
terrorism, and the murders of Larry Lynx, Leeta Wolf, the former  
Commander of G.U.N., Cream the Rabbit, and several unidentified  
residents of Station Square."

Wait, Cream? Larry Lynx? Leeta? I didn't remember killing any of  
those! Oh gosh, what's been making me do this?

Shadow wiped a tear away, while I shed a few of my own. Eventually,  
G.U.N.'s new commander regained his composure, bent down, and placed  
power-dampening handcuffs on my wrists. He then roughly pulled me back  
to my feet.

Shadow heaved a deep sigh and looked away, as if trying to commemorate  
on everything that happened in the last few months. His thoughts were  
interrupted when one of the soldiers cried out.

"SIR! We have an unidentified vehicle landing nearby!"

Shadow whirled around and glared at the peculiar hovercraft.

"Men, surround the vehicle and prepare for combat if necessary."

The soldiers didn't argue and quickly got into a surrounding  
formation, training various weapons on the mysterious hovercraft.

This hovercraft was in the shape of a gray and yellow disc, with  
extremely thick walls that looked to be well protected. A large door  
opened on the underneath, and a blue hedgehog wearing police-like  
armor, along with a dark visor, emerged from it.

"FREEZE!" a G.U.N. unit shouted in a commanding tone. "State your business!"

The hedgehog remained calm. I gulped.

"No need for weaponry, friends. I mean no harm." he lifted his visor,  
exposing a face identical to that of Sonic's.

"I am Zonic, leading Zone Cop and one of the top-ranks. I have  
arrived to take this prisoner off your hands."

Shadow's stern expression didn't change. "And what are you planning to  
do with him?" he asked. I guess Shadow never liked the Zone Cops.

"Oh, just contain him where he can no longer cause harm or be harmed."

Shadow crossed his arms. "Unacceptable. This fox is sole property of G.U.N."

Zonic smirked. "That wasn't a question." And with that, he pressed a  
small button, and all of reality seemed to have stopped in time.  
Suddenly, I felt myself start to black out, dark shadows creeping over  
my eyes.

Just before my vision faded, I saw Zonic reach forward.

**Gnat1: DONE! Hopefully the cliffhanger wasn't TOO lame XD**

**So, yeah... Poor Tails has spent the last few months as a possesed,**  
**super-powered fox. :(**

**Next chapter goes back to Sonic's side of the story, but no worries,**  
**Tails will have his share of the spotlight in this story :D**

**P.S: I decided to use music for this fic, I'm just not sure how often I'll use it. We'll see how things turn out...**


	4. Allied with the Enemy

_Confusion was all that ran through Sonic's mind. Learning that Station_  
_Square and Angel Island practically destroyed each other only fueled_  
_it. Sonic might have stayed around to mourn over all that was_  
_supposedly lost, or to try to discover more, but in these times,_  
_common sense is built on several paths._

_In the meantime, a depressed Tails is being forced into a life he_  
_never thought he would be part of: The life of an arrested criminal._  
_Questions flew through his head continuously, but all of them went_  
_unanswered. Not even he knew what caused him to go on a rampage. While_  
_the fox would wish to ponder over this more, he couldn't. He didn't_  
_have time, because there was one thing he knew for certain: It's never_  
_so bad that it can't get worse._

_...And it's a good thing he knew that..._

_...Because the true horrors hadn't even begun yet._

**OoOoOoO**

**Sonic's POV.**

**OoOoOoO**

Knuckles had landed his hoversled just outside of Big's hut. He, Big,  
and I were seated around a small wooden table, small coffee mugs in  
hand, and discussing plans while watching a new set of rain pour down  
onto the fogged jungle.

"How far off is Glyphic Canyon from here?" I asked as I adjusted my  
small wooden chair. I knew it was a stupid question, as I'd be able to  
make it there in less than a nanosecond, no matter how far off it was.  
Of course, Knuckles and Big sure as heck couldn't move that fast, and  
we would all be staying in a group.

Knuckles was currently examining his right leg, probably wondering if  
he'd ever be able to use it again. "...Well it's definitely not  
nearby. If Big can fit on the hoversled, and you just run alongside  
it, we should get there in about two days. Unless you want to head off  
by yourself, but I wouldn't head out alone."

I lifted an eyebrow. "Think something bad's gonna happen in the  
incredibly short time it would take for me to get there?"

The echidna nodded without missing a beat. "Yep."

I sighed. "Hello? I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. I'm also the fastest thing  
alive. That's fast enough to dodge almost every flavor of attack. Have  
we met?"

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "It's not like that, Sonic. If you were  
attacked, you wouldn't be able to see it coming at all, which is why  
you can't run off alone on that long of a distance."

I sighed. "This is gonna be a LONG trip..."

Big, who had been silent until now, spoke next. "...Wasn't one of Mr.  
Eggman's bases along the route we're going?" he asked.

Knuckles nodded. "The one off of Splash Hill...Why are you asking?"

The purple cat scratched his head. "Well, mebbe we could find  
some...weaponry in there?"

"Oh... I see where you're getting at... yeah, we'll definitely have to  
stop by there then..."

"Um... why do we need weapons?" I asked. "I always thought we handled  
ourselves pretty well without 'em... and what's wrong with the base  
just a half mile from here?"

"That base is stripped. You won't find anything valuable there. And  
trust me, Sonic, when you see more of the crap we have to put up with,  
and everything we've been fighting... you're going to want a weapon by your side at all times."

I was about to reply, when a long, eerie howl cut through the air, sounding through the trees. I jumped.

"...What was that?" I asked, turning to Knuckles.

For a moment, the echidna didn't say anything, he just looked into the foggy jungle surrounding us, as if expecting something to jump out.

"...Shoot... they found us."

**VvVvVvV**

**Tails' POV**

**VvVvVvV**

"...He's waking up."

"Good... are the power-dampeners secured?"

"Yes, we made sure of it."

My eyes opened slowly, letting cracks of light seep into my eyes. It  
was blinding, and I quickly shut them again. My mind was fuzzy, and I  
had a killer of a headache. The last thing I remembered was a Zone Cop  
showing up, and me blacking out.

I let off a quiet groan as I opened my eyes again, feeling the sting  
of the light. I didn't care, I needed to see. I forced my eyes open,  
and everything nearly went white with how brightly lit everything was.  
I was in some sort of examination room, at least that was my guess. I  
mean, I was strapped down to a table...

"Good morning... I trust you slept well?" a zone cop looking identical  
to Espio greeted as he walked in.

I blinked... I didn't even remember going to sleep. "Um... yeah, I guess..."

The zone cop (I think, from my vague memory, that his name was Zespio)  
nodded. "Well then, that's enough of your special treatment. Todays  
the day where you go to the cells."

I groaned mentally. All these Zone Cops... ugh, how was I so stupid  
for not guessing it sooner?

I was in the No Zone, the trans-dimensional highway. Oh, it also had a  
pretty impressive prison meant for the worst of the worst.

I sighed. "Alright then, let's go."

Zespio nodded and silently unstrapped me from the table. I was still  
too tired to even wonder why I was on there in the first place, but I  
found out as I stood up. Power-dampening devices had been placed as a  
collar around my neck, along with bands around my wrists and ankles.  
As if that wasn't enough, another collar had been securely clamped  
over my two tails. Great, now I couldn't fly, couldn't move fast, and  
couldn't even stand straight. And here I was, being led into the cells  
where only the most dangerous criminals go... the kind of criminals  
that will beat up fellow prisoners just so they would have something to do.

To make it short, I was dead meat.

Anyway, Zespio led me out the door and past another Zone Cop that  
reminded me of Vector. (Pretty sure his name was Zector. Zonic,  
Zespio, Zector, not that hard to figure out), then out to an  
anti-gravity wall that we walked along.

"You should be proud of yourself, Tails. You get one of the special  
cells that only the most dangerous get..." Zespio informed.

...Yay? Nay? Was I supposed to be happy about that?

"...Nice." I replied flatly. I was starting to remember all that had  
happened in Station Square. My body had been possessed and locked into  
it's Chaos-powered form, and I was forced to kill thousands... if not  
millions. I think I might have killed a few friends too, but my memory  
was still fuzzy.

But now for the serious thinking; How did something (or someone) take  
control of my Turbo form? They just flew me around like some toy  
biplane for three months straight. It was exhausting, and my head was  
in a constant ache because of that voice... that voice that seemed to  
just echo through my head...

...Echo through my head...

Echo... where did I hear that before?

"Alright, hurry up!" Zespio growled, poking me with some gun thing. I  
sighed as I lost my track of thought, and picked up my pace.

We walked along the wall for a couple of minutes before a large  
building came into view, or maybe a part of the building we were  
walking on... were we on a building? I had no idea, this place was  
confusing.

Anyway, after going through some ridiculous security measures to open  
the door, Zespio led me in, keeping a firm grip on my cuffs.

Now, don't get me wrong, I could escape from this easily. It wouldn't  
be much trouble to wrestle myself out of the Zone Cop's grip, but if I  
escaped... well, I knew these guys had some high-class weapons that  
they'd likely use on me, and I didn't want to take any chances. I  
suppose I might have been able to just tell them that I wasn't  
controlling myself, someone else was pulling the strings when Station  
Square was obliterated, but do you think they'd believe me?

...Yeah, I didn't either.

Anyway, as soon as we were in the building, he led me through another  
set of doors (every door here takes a high security- password, key,  
another key, and a card to get through). Then a long, cold hallway,  
then another set of doors, another set of doors, one more, then  
another hallway, then a door to the right.

"This is where you'll be staying." Zespio informed as he unlocked my  
cell, and motioned me to go in. As soon as I stepped in, he slammed  
the door and locked it. The cuffs I had on my wrists then vanished in  
a blip of light.

"Do us a favor and don't rip your roommates apart, okay?" I heard  
Zespio call through the door before walking off. Wow, they really did  
think I was that dangerous...

Wait, roommates? I'm sharing a cell?

I looked around, seeing several cots around the room for sleeping,  
along with a small table. There was also a barred window, and then  
that freakishly-heavy door. I wasn't going anywhere. Though, I did  
kinda hope that my new roommates weren't hiding or anything, waiting  
for the right moment to-

"Hey hey hey, look who finally toughened up!" Someone said from behind  
one of the cots.

I know that voice...

I growled quietly. This was the last guy I wanted to be in a cell with.

"Awhaw, don't be like that, Tails! You've got my respect! Heh, not  
really, but still..."

I brushed the cot away, revealing the jerk that stood behind it.

"Scourge, I swear..."

"Heh, how's it hangin', freak?"

I narrowed my eyes at the green hedgehog that stood before me. Scourge  
was basically Sonic, just from an alternate dimension... where he  
happened to be the bad guy. I knew for a fact that he and his crack  
team of wackos (known as the Destructix) got thrown in here once, but  
I was pretty sure they had escaped.

"...Why are you in here? Didn't you break out?" I asked, glad to see  
he wasn't loose on the streets, but ticked off that we were sharing a  
cell.

"Eh, Zone Cops are tricky little pricks. The dudes are a severe pain  
in the butt, but you should know that by now." he replied with a  
shrug.

I sighed. "Look, I really don't want to be stuck in this place with you, so-"

"Stuck in this place with ME? Heh, sorry bud, but your not just stuck  
in here with me. You're in with all of us."

As Scourge said that, I then noticed several others come out from  
behind various cots, and corners of the room I hadn't noticed yet. I  
recognized them as Predator Hawk, Fiona Fox, Flying Frog, and Sergeant  
Simion.

I groaned. "...This is not happening..."

"Ha! What's the problem, freak? We're actually kinda glad you got  
thrown in here..." Predator Hawk replied.

"Mm... right. We've been trying ways to break out several times, but  
they're upgraded defense system's proved to hold us in." Simion added.

I lifted an eyebrow. "...You think I'd help you break out? Sorry, you've got me confused with someone else."

Scourge grinned. "No, Tails, we've been waiting for someone with a  
mind like yours to get thrown in here. You're helping us out've here,  
whether ya like it or not."

I was getting sick of this guy. I stood up and faced him. "...No.  
You're going to leave me alone, whether you like it or not."

"Oh, yeah? I'm sure I am." Scourge scoffed. He pushed me roughly, as  
if to prove a point.

Okay, that did it.

My reaction was instant. I swung my fist and landed a hard punch right  
on his jaw. That was a mistake, as I then realized that he had an  
entire team to back him up.

The next thing I knew, I was being held on the ground by Flying Frog.

Scourge smirked as he regained balance. "Not bad. Didn't think you  
were man enough to punch someone." he crouched down and pulled my head  
up by grabbing hold of my front bangs. It hurt like heck, but I didn't  
say anything.

"Now listen, you little two-tailed brat, if we escape, we have nowhere  
to go. Moebius, our dimension, was pretty much sabotaged by the same  
jerk that's effing up your planet. The same jerk that made you destroy  
that city."

My eyes widened. "...How do you know that I-"

"They have television hooked up for the prisoners in the mess hall,  
Tails. We saw you on the Station Square News channel. Thought you  
would've figured that out." Fiona interrupted.

Scourge nodded. "Tails, if we get out, we can take down this jerk  
together. We get our revenge, you get your revenge, both on the same  
idiot."

"I don't even know who's behind all this-"

"Neither do we! But we can sure as heck find out! You help us break  
out, you tag along, we all pummel whoever's causing this, then we go  
our separate ways. Understood?"

I sighed and glanced over at Simion, who had been standing in front  
of the small camera built into the wall. My guess was they didn't want  
the Zone Cops seeing or hearing any of this, Made sense, I guess...

I looked back at Scourge, who was still holding my head up by my hair.  
I hated this jerk, but I really did need to get out of this place...  
and as much as I didn't want to admit it, they were my only chance.  
Maybe I can get them thrown back in here after this whole fiasco is  
over, I don't know... but anyway, I didn't really have a choice here.

I nodded slowly. "...Fine."

Scourge grinned and released his grip, before standing up and pulling  
me to my feet.

"Miles, welcome to the Destructix."

**Gnat1: FINALLY GOT THIS POSTED! I'm so sorry for the wait, everyone. Anyway, it appears that Tails is being forced to work with the Destructix now... that'll be interesting. Sonic, meanwhile, is about to face off against... something that I don't want to reveal just yet.**

**Anyway, NEXT CHAPTER: Sonic, Knuckles, and Big are forced to flee from Big's hut when a seemingly unstoppable force comes hoping to destroy them. In the times of this event, they encounter an old friend... I'll start work on it as soon as I'm able.**

**Please review, and point out any spelling/grammar errors :D**


End file.
